Best Home Security Cameras

Different types of home security cameras

Several types of home security cameras are on the market today. They all offer something a little different. For a more in-depth look at the options, check out a partial listing below:

IP Camera — An Internet Protocol camera, aka IP Camera. As opposed to a closed circuit television (CCTV) camera, which sends a signal to a specific place and a limited set of monitors, IP cameras transmit digital signals over the internet. Many come with built-in analytic software.

Box Camera — A standard video camera, named for its boxy shape. Indoor or outdoor models are both available. One plus is that box cameras have many lens options.

Dome Camera — Named for its dome-like shape, this is a camera, lens, and mount, all rolled into one package. These indoor/outdoor cameras are well used in variable environments that can get dirty, like industrial buildings. Its aesthetic dome shape also makes it more tamper-proof.

PTZ Camera — This camera type is named for its functions: pan, tilt, and zoom. With this type of camera a remote operator can move it around, likely via a mobile phone app. With a movable camera, you can set up an scheduled, automatic moving pattern or just move it as needed.

Bullet Camera — Named for its bullet-like shape, this is another lens, camera, housing combo.

Day/Night Camera — As the name implies, this camera can be used at day or night; hence, it works well in low light settings, where others may not. As light increases, infrared (IR) filtering decreases.

Thermal FLIR Camera — This camera uses heat sensing to tell the difference between humans and objects in dark, smoky, dusty, or foggy settings.

Wide Dynamic Security Camera — This type of camera is able to handle a wide range of lighting levels because it balances light levels on a pixel-by-pixel basis. It can capture clear images and face shots with bright light behind, or darkness in front of the subject.

Wireless IP Camera — This is just like an IP camera, but wireless, using Wi-Fi instead of a wired ethernet connection.

Recording

Most cameras offer event-based recording, triggered by motion detection. You can also set up continuous recording.

Storage

So, you have the camera part figured out, but what about storage? How will your videos be stored and viewed. When it comes to home security, there are a few different storage options you will want to keep in mind.

DVR — A Digital Video Recorder is the same kind of recording many use for television. It is used for analog cameras, not IP cameras, and must be wired in.

NVR — A Network Video Recorder that stores video data, but can be wired or wireless. Instead of connecting via cables to the camera, it connects to IP cameras using the local network. Video quality is better than DVR at the same resolution because NVR just saves data that was processed by the camera. DVRs process the data at the DVR.

MicroSD Card — A small card that saves up to 128 GB of footage.

Hosted Cloud Storage — Remote storage for IP cameras, hosted by a company at a price.